Goodwill Art Works recently opened a new makerspace in the heart of downtown Denison. The studio and gallery for local artists will be a place for artists and those hoping to learn about art to take classes and create works.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the beginning of the month at 510 W. Main Street in Denison to celebrate the opening of the space.
“Art Works is, it’s a combination of things,” Goodwill Industries of Northeast Texas Director of Mission Services Kristi Gourd said this week. “Art Works is a space that’s designed for people of all abilities, different abilities, and those with any type of disadvantages who otherwise may not have access to artworks, to making art. Creating art. We are both a gallery and a studio. We feature local artists who have some type of different ability or disadvantage, and in the gallery, they display their artwork that is for sale. In the back of the space, we have a studio space, and that’s where we conduct classes and different kinds of art, music and exercise experiences for people of different abilities, people of all abilities. And then we also serve senior citizens and children.”
The Denison location is just the second Goodwill Art Works location currently open to the public. The first location is in Adrian, Michigan, and the Denison location is the second prototype of this mission program.
“Our manager at Artworks is Matt Bardwell, and he’s a local artist, local to the Denison art community,” Gourd said. “Matt had a lot of connections with a lot of the artists that are featured in the first round of the gallery. They’re people that he had formerly worked with, or people that he knew of, and we just started putting feelers out for artists who were interested in working with us and displaying and selling their artwork.”
As a mission program, Art Works is funded through donated goods.
“When someone drops off a toaster or a coffee pot or a crock pot at Goodwill, and that piece sells, the profit that’s made from that goes into the missions department,” Gourd said. “Artworks is one of the missions programs. So that’s how we’re funded. We’re funded through our retail goods, and at this time, there’s no cost for participation in any of our classes. We do offer classes for kiddos every Saturday morning, and then we offer a tween group on Tuesday afternoons from 4-5 p.m. for the kiddos that are a little bit older but still looking for something fun and safe and creative to do.”
Director of Community Engagement Ashley Puckett reiterated that money or costs to attend art classes should not be a deterrent for someone who may want to visit Art Works.
“I was walking with a co worker out to her car, and a young man came up and in a wheelchair,” she said. “They were asking about Art Works. I was like, ‘Oh, have you not been in yet?’ We start chatting. And the concern was, ‘Well, can we go in? Like, is it free?’ And we’re like, ‘Yes, of course. Come on in. Check it out.’ It’s for anyone with any kind of ability who wants to be a part. So I think that’s something that maybe what we do want to get the word out is, this is fully funded by Goodwill. There’s no entry cost or anything of that nature at this time.”
Currently, there are 12 featured artists at the gallery.
“We’re conducting the classes, and we’re creating a volunteer list,” Gourd said about the teachers for the art classes at the studio. “In the upcoming weeks and months, we’ll be pulling volunteers in who have specialties in different pieces of artwork or music or exercise and having them come in to conduct classes with us. But, you know, we just opened October 1, so we’re brand new. We’re trying to get a feel for who our primary participant is going to be and what the interests are to see who we need to start bringing in and getting scheduled.”
Right now, the studio is offering painting, but in the future, they hope to open the space to other forms of media.
“We have a local artist who creates pottery, and her work is beautiful,” Gourd said. “And she’s on the list to start with us, hopefully at our next round. We’re also interested in jewelry and wearable fashions…people who crochet and knit and that kind of thing. So yeah, we’re open to all kinds of media and anything that any local artist creates and is interested in selling with us. We’re open.”
As a site looking to attract creatives, Goodwill Art Works wanted to be in downtown Denison and among other galleries and studios.
“We were very fortunate,” Gourd said. “We were looking for space, and the space that we’re in now happened to be available. And, it just happens to be across the street from the 517 Gallery and then also from Sparrows Gallery. So when we saw the location and the blank slate that this space offered, we just knew that this was the right place to come in and put artworks in.”
Currently, Art Works is using social media to promote the artists currently featured in the gallery and to reach others.
“Art is just fundamentally therapeutic in any and every form,” Gourd said about how art can be an enhancement to life. “A lot of the artists that we’re working with currently have shared with us it’s helped them in various ways but coming through difficult life circumstances or dealing with mental illness or with autism or with other issues that can be tough, just facing tough things in their lives. Art can act as a place of healing and a place of self expression and a place of just releasing thoughts and emotions in whatever medium it is. So yeah, art is art’s just healthy for everybody.”
Art Works is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The site is closed on Sundays.
“Right now, we’ve got a pretty open schedule, and I just would encourage anybody who’s interested in participating, just reach out to us,” Gourd said. “And chances are we can get you on the schedule to come in either for a group class, if it’s a group of people, or for some open studio time in the afternoon, where you just bring in your own supplies and come hang out with us and create art.”
To get the most up to date information about the local Goodwill Art Works location, individuals can follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
